This past month, I’ve re-read “Heal Thy Self: Lessons on Mindfulness in Medicine,” by Saki Santorelli, Ed.D., the Executor Director of the UMASS Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Healthcare, and Society. Dr. Santorelli is a long-time MBSR practitioner and teacher, and I would add poet and philosopher to his impressive list of credentials, after moving through his book for a second time. And truly, I was moved.

Narrative medicine has been described as a way for healthcare providers to “…reach and join their patients in illness, recognize their own personal journeys through medicine, acknowledge kinship with and duties toward other health care professionals, and inaugurate consequential discourse with the public about health care. By bridging the divides that separate physicians from patients, themselves, colleagues, and society, narrative medicine offers fresh opportunities for respectful, empathic, and nourishing medical care” (Charon, 2001).

In Heal Thy Self, this author thoughtfully enters into an intimate exploration of his own experiences, personal and professional (as Saki himself reminded us during an MBSR training, the two are not separable, as much as we might wish to demarcate a distinction), over the span of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course.

More than ever before, healthcare providers and their patients are engaged collaboratively in efforts to improve individual health and well-being. (more…)

“The research indicates that these are very simple contemplative practices that don’t require any special tools other than one’s own mind and can be practiced for a few minutes at a time and if they are done regularly, they lead to systematic changes in the brain, systematic changes in behavior and changes in experience.”

Recently I came across this article from the American Psychological Association on the power of the “redemptive story.” As many of us know, the stories we tell ourselves – the meaning we make out of life events, whether they are positive or painful – can shape our identities, our futures, even the our memory of the experiences themselves. If we allow ourselves to feel (and accept) the impact of living through adversity, we can come out on the other side with greater wisdom and positive well-being.

What’s been difficult for you, in your life? And how much do you allow or acknowledge its impact? Do you tell yourself a story that is distorted or negative – that you are inherently “bad” or “unworthy,” as a result of these circumstances? Or do you admit that while painful, the event might have revealed a need for greater awareness, skills, or support, or otherwise taught you some lesson that has made you stronger as a person?

Anyone else out there struggling to skillfully navigate life difficulties? I’m all too prone to thoughts of: “It shouldn’t be this way!” Rick Hanson shares some very sage words on how we create additional suffering by pushing away difficult experiences, or attempting to cling to the ones we like…

This topic has been coming up more frequently in my individual and group psychotherapy sessions. Many of us aren’t sleeping nearly as much as our bodies need, and improving our sleep hygiene is a relatively easy thing to do. Read on for an article about the importance of good rest, and the costs (to our weight and health) if we cut corners….

Although this article references the application and research of this technique for use with smokers, it has been applied to binge or emotional eating as well. This specific skill is one of many that are taught in my Eating Awareness Training (E.A.T.) workshops and classes.